The effect of colchicine on the protocorm-like bodies of Cattleya intermedia L. (Orchidaceae) cultured in vitro was studied. Different concentrations of the drug (0.00, 0.05, 0.10 and 0.20%) as well as two times of culture (4 or 8 days) were tested to determine the best treatment for the induction of tetraploid plants. Of the 3 colchicine levels applied, 0.05 and 0.10% of drug treatments appeared to be effective on the production of mixoploids and tetraploids and could be further used in breeding programs. The suitability of stomatal area and stomata density as criteria for the distinction between diploids and tetraploids was also tested. The results suggested that tetraploid plants could be identified with a fair amount of certainty when the screening was based on the density of stomata.

We report the in vitro induction of polyploids from two cassava cultivars by colchicine treatment. Shoot nodal segments, collected from in vitro cultivated plants of Porquinho and Vassourinha cultivars, were used as explants. Explants were treated in liquid media without and with colchicine (0.05, 0.10 or 0.15%), at 90 rpm, in the dark, for 48 or 96 h. Normal-like and putative-polyploid phenotypes were recovered from in vitro culture, for both cultivars. All plants from the putative-polyploid group were confirmed as tetraploids by flow cytometry and root tip chromosome counting, whereas no association was found between ploidy level and phenotype in normal-like plants. Mixoploids were also recovered from both cultivars. Vassourinha was more responsive to colchicine treatment than Porquinho. Tetraploid plants have fewer, but bigger, stomata guard cells than those in diploids. Colchicine at 0.10% for 96 hours induced a high number of tetraploids in both cultivars.

O Jogo dos Códons representa parte do processo de síntese de proteínas (tradução), destacando o complexo formado pelo RNA transportador e aminoácido, as sequências códon (RNA mensageiro) e anticódon (RNA transportador) e o código genético. A atividade pode ser utilizada em turmas de ensino básico, técnico ou de graduação, de acordo com o tipo de abordagem e a complexidade das questões aplicadas.

The induction of polyploidy in cassava The polyploidy played an important role in the improvement of many species of plants, especially in cereals including intergeneric hybrids. The process of polyploidy usually produces new and desirable phenotypes or provides support for crosses of plants in breeding programs. This research work reports the result of polyploidy induction in two cassava cultivars ('Porquinho' and 'Vassourinha') by different colchicine concentrations (0.05 %, 0.10 % and 0.15 %) in culture medium exposed for 48 or 96 hours. Regenerated plants were examined cytologically by flow cytometry and chromosome counting. Additionally, analysis of the size and frequency of stomata were performed and the results showed that can be used for screening of the treated plants. Treatment with 0.1% colchicine in the culture medium for 96 hours showed a higher number of tetraploid plants produced about the number of regenerated plants in both cultivars evaluated. No significant differences among colchicine doses and duration times treatment were found in the number of tetraploids found in each treatment. However, we observed a significant difference in tetraploid production between the cultivars analyzed, indicating that there may be a genetic response to induction of chromosome doubling with colchicine.